Don't Forget
by StilloftheSilence
Summary: Luke returns to try to convince Thalia to run away and join him, he explains why he did what he did.  "I couldn't just give up on you. I couldn't just let you think that I didn't care." Thuke.


**A/N: Okay, this is my first Thuke, but I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out. I'm newly obsessed with them, so I had to write something. This shot goes along with Demi Lovato's "Don't Forget" which I'm convinced was written about Luke and Thalia because it describes them perfectly. Anyway, this is sort of a heavier shot about Luke coming back to ask Thalia to come with him. I hope you like it!**

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><p>Thalia sat next to a tree. She was on guard duty tonight, she <em>hated<em> guard duty. It gave her way too much time to think, and when her mind was free to wander, it always ended up in the same place: Luke. She wished she could just forget about that jerk and everything he'd done. To her, to the gods, to himself. At one point in her life she had known everything about Luke, she had known him better than he knew himself, now she could barely even recognize him. He had changed, and she hated it.

A twig snapping broke her train of thought and quick as a lighting bolt she whipped around and was poised to shoot, bow in hand, arrow notched, aiming straight at...Luke. She was so shocked at first she began to lower her bow, before she quickly snapped back into it and resumed her former position of pointing the arrow straight between his crystal eyes.

"What do you want?" she demanded, loud and clear, her voice only wavering minimally, she hated the effect he had on her.

Luke held his hands up in surrender, slowly stepping nearer to her, as if approaching a dangerous monster, which probably would have been a wiser choice for him.

"Please, I just came to talk." he said, seeming sincere, after knowing him so long, Thalia could tell that he was telling the truth. He was unarmed, but that didn't mean she could trust him. She could never trust him again, despite her fierce desire to.

"I don't want to talk Luke. I hate you." Thalia spat, refusing to lower her weapon.

Luke flinched, but continued towards her. He looked bad. His face was lifeless, his dragon scar more intimidating than she remembered, his skin was gray, his blond hair was lifeless and his eyes were dead, until they locked with Thalia's, which seemed to ignite a long-lost spark. He cautiously touched her hands and lowered her bow.

"Please. I need to talk to you." Luke whispered.

Thalia looked at him, "You have five minutes before I yell for help. Make it quick."

Luke smiled halfheartedly. "Before you say no, will you just consider my offer? Come with me, join us. You'll be safe, I promise. The gods dishonored you Thalia, they let you die, and they'll pay for that. This is what we always wanted. Don't you remember when we were on the run and we always said that we were going to change the world, we were going to make it a better place, rebuild it and rule it better than the gods ever did. We would do it right. That's all that Kronos is trying to accomplish. And he promised me a reward, and I will share it with you. All you have to do is say yes, Thals, and we can have everything we ever wanted."

Thalia's heart ached. She couldn't deny that every fiber of her body wanted to believe Luke. She wanted to run away with him again,to be a family again. But he had betrayed her, he had betrayed everybody and and she could never forgive him.

"What about family, Luke? You promised me we'd be a family. The you betrayed me and you poisoned my tree. And how can you fight against the gods? Hermes is your father Luke! How can you do this to him, to me?" Thalia demanded, struggling to hold back tears, she could not break down, she could not be weak.

"Don't you see?" Luke asked, almost pleading. "I did it for _you_, Thal. It was all part of the plan, I knew Percy would find the fleece and cure you. And as for my father, he never did a damn thing for me, he never cared. Just look at what he let happen to my mother. The titans have this all figured out, they're gonna fix things, and I'm gonna help, and then you and me can be a family again."

Thalia looked dead at him. "You're wrong. He cares about you Luke, he loves you. The titans are evil and you're just helping them destroy the world. Gods, what happened to you, Luke? What turned you into this?"

"The gods did, Thalia. They let you die. They don't care about us, we're just their pawns, and I'm tired of being just another useless move. I'm going to do something about it, and I want to standing by my side when I do. I need you." Luke said, his eyes had softened by now, and he brought his hand up to trace Thalia's face. She couldn't help but lean into him and remember what it was like in the old days on the run, back when they were still a family. She longed to say yes and run away with him. Although she could never admit it, she missed him terribly, and she would almost do anything to be a family again. Almost.

"I can't Luke." Thalia whispered, her voice hoarse and tears in her eyes. "I just can't. I can't just betray my father. And Annabeth, did you think about her? What about Percy, the kid you used to be friends with before you tried to kill him? And I have a pledge to Artemis. I'm a Hunter now, Luke, she has my allegiance. I can't go with you."

A tear slid down her cheek.

"I thought you'd say that. But I had to try, I couldn't just give up on you. I couldn't just let you think that I didn't care." Luke pulled her close, he was shaking. "I love you, Thals." he whispered into her ear.

Thalia was trying to be strong, but those last words broke her. She hadn't heard him say them in so long. They stayed close for a moment, it would be their last, and they both knew it. "I love you, too, Luke." she murmured. He looked at her and their blue eyes locked for a moment, and then he was gone. Leaving behind a tingling feeling on her cheek where he brushed it as he left, and a girl with a heart that had been newly broken just as it had been in the middle of repairing itself.

"Thalia? Are you okay?" came the voice of Anne, a fellow Hunter.

Thalia quickly wiped away her tears and stood up straight, immediately correcting herself, making it look as if nothing was amiss.

"Yeah, everything is fine." Thalia replied airily.

"Okay, just checking, I thought I heard something." Anne said, concerned.

"Nope, it's just me out here. Nothing's changed."

And as Anne left and Thalia's thought returned to Luke, she knew that she would never be able to forget him, just as she could never truly hate him.

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><p><strong>Please Review!<strong>


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